Can it be done? Unattended install.

J

Jonny Two Shoes

Expert Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
4,542
Reaction score
17
Location
Gauteng
I always wondered if it is possible for a program to track your exact mouse and keyboard i/o and then save it as a sort of script and then when you run it then what you did is replicated exactly as you did it before.

Is it possible? Why has it not been done?

When you have 100 or so of the same PC equipment and software to install this may come in handy, and as they are all the same no variations should exist which would render the replicated i/o useless.

I know of a program called Multiset which allows you to create packages for installing programs...but it is overly complex compared to what I have in mind and does not allow you to do what is required here. What if you want to setup a newly imaged PC and change settings like adding DNS suffixes and logging in to the network and running this and running that etc etc...? Why can't you just have a program that simply records all your input/output exactly as is 100% with timed intervals or exact time stamp for every input and with no concern for what it is actually clicking on and typing etc..the PC will do the rest. It could even allow you to edit the script where you feel a timed interval should be allowed extra time for completing a task before moving on.

Am I missing something? Would certainly help many a rollout. You already have many a key logger and mouse tracker out there so why not just take it a step further :)
 
Last edited:
Thanks man :) seems "macro recorder" is the buzzword here which of course I would never have guessed trying to google :p
 
Surely it would be simpler to link them up in a network and then run a remote manager and mirror all the drives?
 
^ unfortunately imaging a PC here is no simple task. Cloning causes problems by creating the same SID on multiple machines which confuses the heck out of the WSUS server pushing windows updates to all clients. It thinks they are all the same PC. It also messes with other security like shared folder access.

Besides, our images are created by corporate and I have to use what they give me. If I modify and create my own image I need to run sysprep on each client in order to create new SIDs for every PC and it becomes a bugger when this messes up our SitePrep settings and changes a few other things. After imaging a PC I can easily create a list of 40 odd things to do before it is ready to be given to a user. So some automation is very welcome indeed specifically as one machine can take around 3 hours to complete with me having to be there all the time.

If I had plenty more time I am sure I could figure out other ways and play around with sysprep and what not but I don't :/ the image takes too long to have to redo each time :( I think corporate uses heavy compression or something on the image.
 
Yeah, AutoIt is one of the macro recorders that are usually recommended.
 
Can't you do it via, commandline, $OEM$ folder and Windows Unattended install?
 
nLite could also be helpful. It can automate the whole Windows installation procedure, including slipstreaming all sorts of hotfixes etc. It can also run whatever commands you need once it is done, but from then no you'd need a macro recorder of some sort to actually install the programs...
 
nLite is a good tool yes. You can install most programs with Group Policies.
 
are 'corporate' using MS RIS server images? we use it and works fine
the thing with ris images is you need a new image for each HAL conf ( differend pc makes )
 
wcoetzee said:
are 'corporate' using MS RIS server images? we use it and works fine
the thing with ris images is you need a new image for each HAL conf ( differend pc makes )
Click to expand...

Thats where ImageX + WDS comes in.. RIS is history
 
wcoetzee said:
are 'corporate' using MS RIS server images? we use it and works fine
the thing with ris images is you need a new image for each HAL conf ( differend pc makes )
Click to expand...

Nope, they simply paste the latest ghost images on a server in the US and I download the ISO's via leased line. If the ISO's give problems burning to DVD which they have been then I ask them to post the DVD's to us which takes about 2 weeks.

They are still stuck in the past using Ghost8, at least they have implemented Dell XImage which makes driver install a breeze for whatever model laptop or desktop. We only use Dell PC's nothing else...part of some agreement between our company and theirs. I still have to use stiffy disks to create my own image with Ghost8 and they do not recommend I use anything else. I sure as hell aint buying a better piece of software for the company out of my own pocket :/ even if I could afford it.

So I really don't have many options here and security is their no1 concern, no one has admin rights apart from me and one other person and all PC's go through the same strenuous setup. It will get a bit difficult when there is going to be a little more than 200 PC's to administer on our network on and off site, none with admin rights at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X